Press Release Written by Nathan Foltz
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - The Wilmington University softball team concluded its regular season with a doubleheader sweep at Chestnut Hill on Wednesday, defeating the Griffins 2-0 and 9-0 in Philadelphia in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference matchup.
The Wildcats head into the CACC Tournament as the fifth seed, finishing conference play with a 10-8 record and a 20-26 overall record.
Wilmington pitching shut down Chestnut Hill to just five hits between the two games. After scoring two runs on eight hits in Game 1, the bats woke up for the Wildcats in Game 2, plating nine runs on 13 hits (six for extra bases) to carry them to the run-rule victory after five frames.
GAME 1:
Wilmington had five hits through the first four innings, but couldn't get a run across as they went 1-4 with runners in scoring position.
They finally caught a couple of breaks in the top of the fifth, first with Cassidy Zelano scoring on a wild pitch while Hailey Trapani was at the plate. Trapani then hit a single to center, but a misplay by the Griffin center fielder allowed her to come all the way around and score on a little league home run.
Not much more offense was needed than that, as Olivia Hitchens dazzled in the circle once again. She nearly matched the career high in strikeouts she set last Thursday, punching out nine Griffins with no walks in the complete game shutout.
At the plate, Jaydyn Beall went 3-3 with three singles, also swiping a bag. Gabriella Saucedo had a multi-hit showing as well, going 2-2. Saucedo was one of four Wildcats with a sac bunt in the game.
GAME 2:
The struggles with runners on base were quickly resolved in Game 2, as Wilmington exploded for six runs in the first inning. Cassidy Zelano got things started with a one-out triple, then was driven in by Gabriella Saucedo on a single. Maddie Vollmar and Addison Sabo followed with back-to-back doubles, with Sabo's plating two, to chase Chestnut Hill's starter after she recorded just one out. Jess Reed kept the extra base hit machine running by greeting the new arm with the Wildcats' third double in a row, bringing in Sabo. Alexa Eisemann wrapped the inning's scoring up with a two-run single, making it 6-0 before Chestnut Hill came to the plate.
All told, the Wildcats recorded seven hits in a row after Hailey Trapani began the game with a groundout.
Sabo stayed hot in her second plate appearance, smacking a two-run homer in the top of the second following a Saucedo double. The Wildcats picked up their ninth and final run of the ballgame in the fourth, with Krista Brunson singling home Clara Babyak.
The Griffins couldn't put much of anything together against Maddie Vollmar and Karen Sickle, taking just two at-bats with a runner on second base all game and going 0-2. Vollmar started and went three innings, allowing a hit and a walk with four strikeouts. Sickle cleaned up the last two innings with a hit and a strikeout.
Saucedo and Sabo both went 2-2 in the game, with both notching a double and Sabo a homer. Sabo also led the team with four RBI on the day. Mia Keenan had multiple hits as well, going 2-3. Vollmar and Reed had doubles, and Zelano had a triple. Babyak and Keenan each stole a base.
UP NEXT:
Wilmington now eyes Saturday afternoon for their next game, which will be at Holy Family in the CACC Tournament First Round. The two squads will play a best-of-three series, with the first game being played at 4:00 p.m. in Philadelphia. Game two and, if necessary, game three are scheduled for Sunday, starting at noon. The winner of that series will move on to the double elimination portion of the tournament, hosted at Asbury Field starting next Thursday, May 7.